Our FAQ’s are divided into three sections:
QUESTIONS ABOUT USING EBIKES FOR GOLF
As with all new things, some courses are hesitant to allow ebikes on their course. We have customers riding ebikes on golf courses all over the world, and more and more courses are getting ebikes to rent. So it is only a matter of time before all golf courses allow golfer-owned ebikes. Click here to see a full discussion about this topic in our Golf Course page. Be sure to read this before you ask your golf course if it is OK.
It is an ingenious technology that adds motor assist as you pedal. Most ebikes have 3 or 5 levels of PAS. Our GolfEbikes have 7 so you can really fine-tune your ride. You control how much assist you want with the touch of a plus/minus button. This allows you to get as much exercise as you want. You can set it to PAS-0 and not use the motor at all if you want maximum exercise. Or, you can use the throttle and ride it like a scooter without pedaling at all.
Ebikes are governed by bicycle rules in most jurisdictions, so no special license is required. But there are rules that vary from State to State, or country to country. Always consult your local bicycle laws. Click here to see the rules in the United States.
No. There are some essential elements that are required for golf described here. At the very least, you need a step-thru frame, a sturdy rack on the back, and fat tires. We also strongly recommend as low-and-open a step through frame as possible since you will be getting off-and-on between every shot except putts…over 50 times off and 50 times on per round! Beyond those very basic requirements are many other elements that are ideal for golf. GolfEbikes are designed for golf and include every ideal element.
Yes. Showing and demonstrating your ebike and bag carrier to golfers on the course is natural and fun. But as an added incentive, we are paying $100 commission for every GolfEbike sale that you refer. Our hope is that you will also send, “Look what I have found…” emails to your friends, and post some pictures and videos on social media. We have some customers who have paid off their ebike cost just by referring people!
We have printable hand-out cards and other helpful items to make referring easy.
“I can hardly wait to receive my Golf Ebike. But I have already started to tell my friends, and two of them have just ordered their own Golf Ebikes. We are going to have so much fun riding together. I’ve already made $200 and haven’t even received my own bike yet. How cool is that!” Kirk Tanner, Utah
Ebikes range in price from under $1,000 to over $10,000. Average prices for good quality ebikes are $1500 to $2500. A lot of people make a mistake looking for the cheapest bike they can find. But you should be wary of off-brand ebikes that advertise crazy-low prices.
They are sometimes selling distressed inventory from manufacturers that are no longer in business. It seems like there are new ebike brands being sold on Amazon every week, and others going out of business just as often…with inventory to sell. But they often go out of business because of bad ebikes. Search “ebike scams” for some scary stories.
Some sellers claim to have name brand battery cells, but that is not possible unless prices reflect name brand components. Several of our Golf Bag Carrier customers have told us that they got one of those cheap ebikes and regretted it. One customer paid but never received a bike. Another purchased a bike at the beginning of the golf season that said it had a Samsung battery, but he had to replace the battery half way through that first season after only about 20 rounds of golf. The company then sold him a replacement battery “at a discount” for $300, but the replacement battery started to lose range by the end of the season. Clearly it wasn’t a Samsung battery. This is a buyer-beware topic. You can suspect a listing when the price is way below that of reputable brand-name ebikes showing the same kind of features
We have a lot of customers with ebikes that have a frame bar between the seat and handlebar such as the one shown here. You can’t swing your leg up over the clubs on the back, so you have to lean the bike over toward you to effectively lower the bar and lift your leg over it. That might not be too difficult for normal use where you get on and off a couple of times per ride. But doing it between every golf shot might be too much for some people. A low-and-open step thru frame like our GolfEbikes is much better for golf.
Class 2 ebikes are limited to 20 mph, which is quite a bit faster than traditional golf carts that top out at about 13 mph. But as a practical matter, you probably won’t ride it over 15 mph on the golf course, even though the larger-diameter soft tires handle bumps a lot more smoothly than a traditional sit-down golf cart, especially if you have front shocks and a suspension seat like our GolfEbikes. Our Class 3 GolfEbikes can get up to 28mph, or more when you also pedal. Of course, they won’t go that fast on soft grass, and you wouldn’t want to. Logically, speeds depend on a lot of variables including the rider’s weight and fitness, wind, hills, tire pressure, and surface.
To be sure, the practical limitation is whether or not everyone on the golf course has a bike, or their own cart. Because ebikes are so inexpensive, they can supplement a cart-fleet and get a golf course to the point where everyone can ride straight to his or her own ball. We are not advocating rushing the round, just eliminating sitting and waiting half the time in a cart while your partner determines which club to use, takes a few practice swings, finally hits the ball, wipes the club off, puts it back in the bag, and gets back in the cart. Then you can go repeat the process for your shot while he or she waits and watches. That just doesn’t make any sense compared to each golfer on their own wheels!
When you can ride to your own ball, you can play a true form of “ready golf”. As an example, when we go out on our bikes when no one is ahead of us, we can easily complete a round in 2 to 2 1/2 hours without rushing…just reducing the long waiting periods between shots. Some golf courses rent their ebikes for the first round of the day…so golfers can ride without ever having to wait. This becomes a sought-after tee time which helps illustrate the benefits if everyone on the course had their own wheels.
Well known golfers like Jack Nicklaus, and industry leaders in the PGA and USGA recognize the importance of speeding up the game so it will attract the next generation.
A 4 inch wide fat tire ebike has LESS THAN HALF THE POUNDS-PER-SQUARE INCH impact on the grass as a golf cart!
Golf carts weigh about 1,000 pounds, plus one 200 pound rider = 1200 pounds. Golf cart tires are 18” tall x 8” wide and do not “squish out”. There is about 3 inches of circumference in solid contact with the ground. 3×8=24″ x 4 tires = 96 square inches in contact with the ground. 1200 pounds divided by 96 = 12.5 pounds per square inch for golf carts.
Fat tire ebikes weigh 80 pounds plus a 200 pound rider = 280 pounds. 20×4 inch soft fat tires squish out to 5 inches wide on the turf. The larger diameter tires and combined squish have about 4.5 inches of tire in solid contact with the ground. 5 x 4.5 = 22.5 x 2 tires = 45 square inches in contact with the ground. 280 pounds divided by 45 = 6.2 pounds per square inch for ebikes.
It’s not even close. Ebikes are easier on the turf than golf carts!
We also discuss this on the Golf Course page along with other golf course topics.
Even though you can’t ride an electric bag cart, because they are both electric, both carry golf bags, and are similar cost, it is logical to compare them. We love the comparison and have created this visual for your review. It is also beneficial for us that electric bag carts are widely permitted by golf courses. It allows us to point out that, “Our GolfEbikes are electric bag carriers…but we can also ride them which speeds up the game,” and golf courses know that is a good thing for their course and the future of golf.
Ebikes with 500 and 750 watt motors can handle golf courses with modest hills depending on the rider’s weight. Most have 7 gears, so you can gear down for hills and gear up for high speeds and long rides between holes if your course is spread out. By design, ebikes are meant to “assist” the rider’s own leg power. So they don’t have low-end torque and are not necessarily powerful from a dead start or up steep hills. Our GolfEbikes have a powerful 750 watt motor and a 34-tooth “granny gear” that is lower than other ebikes, so it climbs steep hills more easily.
With low-pressure fat flotation tires, ebikes are very stable on wet grass. We have purposefully ridden up, down, and sideways on the steepest wet grass hills we could find without experiencing any slippage. Fat soft tires can also safely cross over ridges such as the edge of cart paths, as well as over small rocks on cart paths. Obviously, common sense always applies. For instance, if you are riding up over a tall cart path ridge, approach it straight-on rather than at a slight angle. If your ebike has knobby tread, be VERY careful on wet pavement or when the tires are wet from morning dew. Knobbies are not nearly as good as the golf-course-approved tread on our GolfEbikes. Common sense and self-preservation are valuable assets. Always ride safely.
Yes, that is one of the benefits of single-rider devices. They allow the game to be played faster which is critically important for youth and young adults. Younger generation players are attracted to fitness so will like the ability of ebikes to provide as much exercise as they want. They also have the appeal of environmentally-friendly electric power.
“Innovation can help golf attract the younger generation.”
Green Sports Alliance
Absolutely. Riding a bike is easy. We all know how to do it. Riding an ebike is even easier than a traditional bike because you don’t have to pedal. Older golfers know they need exercise. But walking can be hard on older joints and muscles. When walking 18 holes becomes too difficult, riding a bike will EXTEND our ability to play golf, and provide much-needed smooth rotational exercise at a time in our life when exercise is vitally important. That is also good news for golf courses and the golf industry because it will keep older golfers playing more often and more years…and therefore spending more money at golf courses.
Although there are some creative canopies for bikes available, as a practical matter, Ebikes don’t provide any protection from rain and it would be difficult to use an umbrella in the wind created by the forward motion. But then, most golfers don’t like to play in the rain anyway, even if they can retreat to a conventional cart between shots.
It is very quick and easy to fold an ebike as shown in the video below. They will easily fit into most car trunks…all the easier with a hatchback. If you have a mini-van, all you have to do is fold the handlebars down. As a bonus, folding bikes have a lower step-through height than non-folding ebikes. The hinge technology is very strong. There is no movement in the joints when locked. You can even take them for modest off-road rides, in the mountains, and on the beach. Our GolfEbikes are not only designed for golf, but they are great for hunting. They are rugged enough to also be considered cargo ebikes which is amazing for folding frame.
20×4″ fat tire folding ebikes usually weigh about 65 pounds (29.5 kgs). Our heavy duty GolfEbikes weighs 72 pounds (32.7 kgs) with the 11.5 pound battery removed, 83.5 pounds with the battery (37.9 kgs).
The folding/unfolding video below show how easy it is to fold and unfold a GolfEbike. Other models are similar. This video also shows how to load and unload your golf bag onto the carrier frame.
We don’t sell those kind of accessories because they are commonly available on Amazon, Ebay, Walmart and other stores. Our Golf Ebikes include a drink bottle holder that will hold a Yeti, Stanley cup, or other large tumbler. We also offer a sand bottle holder and encourage all golfers to carry a sand bottle to fix their divots and help keep the course in good shape. We want golf courses to know that ebikers are good for golf. You can get your own sand bottle (many are available on Amazon and other sources) or use one supplied by the course. All courses will gladly provide a bottle and sand for you…just ask. If you don’t have our GolfEbike with its own sand bottle holder, you can carry it in one of the side pockets of your golf bag or consider getting a wire basket such as the one shown in this picture. These baskets are designed to hook over handlebars, but we recommend hooking it on the right side of your rear rack. (Search “folding bicycle basket with hooks”)
Our GolfEbikes also have built-in threaded mounts for “Front Baskets” although we don’t recommend them for golf. We think the wire baskets are better for golf, and they are a lot less expensive. Click here to see the front-basket mounting bolt pattern.
With the aims of protecting the environment and promoting green transport, Congress has launched a proposed bill called The Bicycle Incentive Kickstart for the Environment, or “H.R. 1019 – E-BIKE Act.” It has not passed yet, but we will make a big announcement if/when it does. Skyrocketing gas prices will add incentive for this bill. With the growing popularity of ebikes, many people are leaving their car in the garage and riding their ebike to work or school and for local errands. It is reasonable to understand that if large segments of the population do this, it can make a HUGE impact on fuel consumption. So this kind of legislation is gaining support.
Liability and responsibility is not any different than the normal liability rules on the golf courses. The golfer is responsible for any accidents or damage whether walking, riding in a rented cart, or riding his or her own ebike. Because ebikes are new to golf courses, some may still be concerned about liability. If it comes up in conversation, we provide a simple liability and responsibility waiver you can print and have ready to hand the courses where you play. We suggest you print it, sign it, and take it with you if you are going to a new golf course and aren’t sure if they welcome ebikes.
Ebike Golf Course Etiquette
First and foremost, be a good golf course citizen and follow all the rules of the course.
We encourage you to get a sand bottle from the course and repair all divots. Our GolfEbikes have a built-in sand bottle holder.
Since fat tire ebikes have less than half the impact on grass than golf carts, most courses treat ebikes like bag carts and allow them to go wherever bag carts can go in normal course conditions. Being able to ride straight to your own ball and being able to park next to greens and tee boxes is one of the unique advantages of ebikes, and it speeds up the game dramatically.
Some courses will treat ebikes like golf carts which will require you to enter and exit at the markers, and to park on paths near greens.
When a course is wet and “cart path only” ebikes might also be required to stay on cart paths. Check with your course.
It is important to recognize that ebikes are new and golf courses are adapting. If you have any questions about protocol, please ask your course manager.
If you have questions that are not covered in these FAQ’s, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Punctures can happen anywhere. But typically not on golf courses. Just be careful where you ride. If you ever have a flat, we provide instructions for fixing it.
Questions about the Quick-Attach Golf Bag Carriers – Patent Pending
No, not at all. You don’t even feel the weight while riding. As kids, we all remember placing our left foot on the pedal, pushing off, then swinging our leg over the seat. But we could also stand on the pedal and coast as long as we wanted to without ever thinking about balancing. It is automatic.
As soon as you are riding, even slowly, balance is natural and you won’t feel the weight.
The only time you “feel” the weight is when you stand the bike up from the kick stand angle. So we recommend “going light” with a carry bag rather than a full-size staff or cart bag, even though the Carrier will handle a heavy bag.
Trikes are not nearly as stable as bicycles. That might not make initial sense, but it is universally understood by the biking world that trikes are more tippy, more unstable, and more dangerous. Here is why…
A trike is stable on level ground going straight ahead, but they can tip over going around a corner on level ground because your weight is naturally being forced outward, and you can lean into the turn. They are even more unstable on sloped side hills, uneven ground, or over bumps, dips, or curbs…of which there are many on a golf course. With a trike, you cannot lean into terrain or turns. A trike is always “parallel to the ground” which forces the rider’s center of gravity the opposite direction it needs to go. With a trike, any time you are not on level ground, the natural forces try to turn the steering downward, and it takes active handle bar manipulation against the downward forces…which throws the rider’s weight downward even more. This can happen on very minor slopes. Many trike riders have tipped over unexpectedly. You can see videos that help explain these forces and dangers. Search, “the danger of trike ebikes.”
With a 2-wheeled ebike, you are always “perpendicular to gravity.” So even on a side hill, you are upright and more stable. Dips and bumps don’t throw off your balance. Since the entire goal of using an ebike on golf courses is to be able to ride straight to your own ball, being able to ride along side hills and over dips and bumps is a great advantage for 2-wheeled ebikes.
To be sure, trikes don’t require balance on level ground. But golf courses are not level, and many roads aren’t either. Balance on a 2-wheel ebike is automatic as long as you are rolling forward, even slowly. And it is much easier to start moving forward on an ebike than a bicycle because you don’t have to pedal. You can take off with the throttle for instant balance, and then start pedaling if you want to.
In summary, 2-wheeled ebikes are much safer and more stable than trikes, and they are far more maneuverable making them much better for golf than trikes.
Yes, the Bag Carrier actually locks your bike to the ground on slopes. However, on steep slopes, always park your bike aimed uphill (best) or downhill…but never side-hill.
Yes. Of course, bike racks vary significantly. The size of the tubing, the height, the arrangement of cross-bars on the top, and support bars from the frame…all different. Our universal-fit adapter makes it possible to attach our Carrier to any bike with a rack on the back, although some unique applications might require a little creativity. We haven’t found any yet where it won’t work. We even have customers who mount it to motorcycles and scooters which they use just to transport their clubs to-and-from the course. You can see these photos at the bottom of the Gallery. Be sure to review the Installation Instructions if you have any questions about your ebike being able to hold the Golf Bag Carrier
Yes. But if the shocks are designed so that the frame and rear rack depress downward going over bumps and dips, then you have to mount the Bag Carrier so that the bottom of it is a couple of inches higher off the ground than it would be on a bike without rear shocks, depending on how much compression-travel your shocks have, how heavy you are, and how fast you ride over bumps and dips. You NEVER want the bottom of the Bag Carrier to hit the ground while riding. We discuss this in the Installation Instructions.
For these reasons, ebikes with rear shocks are not ideal for golf, and why our GolfEbikes do not have rear shocks. Rather, they have a high quality Zoom suspension seat post for riding comfort.
If you know your way around a screw driver and wrench, you will not have any trouble installing the Golf Bag Carrier. Click here to see the Installation Instructions.
It is even easier on our GolfEbikes which inclulde a mounting plate so you don’t need the universal rack bracket.
Our Diamondplate Rubber 6×12 inch Mudguard attaches to the FRONT fender of fat-tire ebikes to prevent grass clippings, mud, and water from being thrown up on your feet and the bike.
Golf courses are always fresh-cut. If you golf in the morning when there is dew on the grass, the front tire will throw grass up on you and your bike. So we highly recommend it. We don’t include it with the kit because it is designed for fat-tire ebikes with FULL front fenders. Some customers have ebikes without fenders or only short half-fenders.
The rubber mudguards are not needed on our GolfEbikes because they have an extra long front fender.
It is made of 5052 aluminum with a durable textured powder coating.
That is a great question. Divnick Clubs are telescopic for easy travel and walking. The Adjustable Loft Club can be used for the whole game which makes it VERY easy to walk the course. Even so, many of our customers use our clubs for travel, but they play with a full set at home where an ebike is a perfect solution. And of course, even if you are only carrying the “Whole-In-One Divnick Club” you can play the round a lot faster on wheels.
I have been asked many times what my motivation was for developing this ebike golf system. It is pretty simple. I’ve always liked to walk and get exercise while I golf. But now that I’m in my mid-70’s, my joints and muscles are sore after a round of golf, and I know that will progress over the years. I didn’t want to graduate straight into a “sit-down couch with 4 wheels,” so I started to look at single-rider options. But they didn’t offer any exercise, and they are way too expensive. I knew ebikes were exploding in popularity around the world and were therefore very inexpensive, so I thought:
“Why not combine two of my favorite things…golf and biking!”
As an inventor with several patents, I basically “solve problems and make things work better.” All I had to do was figure out a great way to carry the clubs on a bike. I remembered as a kid that I could stand on the pedal and coast without thinking about how to balance, so I figured that I could mount the bag carrier on the side and also use it as a kick stand which would be much more stable and easier to deploy than the bike’s kick stand.
My first “proof of concept” on the golf course attracted a lot of attention and people who wanted one, so I perfected it and quickly got it into production.
Because of the health benefits, ebikes will keep me golfing more rounds per month and more years. Every golf course has hundreds of golfers my age. That means a lot more course-revenue for more years, and that’s a big winner for the golf industry.
Steve Divnick
Inventor – www.divnick.com
They are basically the same, except for the “rack bracket” which has a built-in mount on the GolfEbike. Also, the Universal-Fit model has a lot more holes for height adjustment and other variables while the model for the GolfEbike doesn’t need that adjustability.
If you have questions about the Bag Carriers that are not covered here, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Questions about GolfEbikes
GolfEbikesTM come almost completely assembled. All of the electronics are connected. You only need to attach the handlebars, thread in the pedals, and insert the seat tube. See the Owners Manual and the unpacking and assembly video here.
The battery is by far the most expensive component in the bike, and a name-brand battery like Samsung, LG, or Panasonic is more powerful, lasts longer, and can be recharged many more times than non-branded batteries. Click here to see an amazing report and why a name brand battery can give you a lot more range and can save you hundreds of dollars a year.
How long will GolfEbike batteries last? – One of the most often asked questions is, “How many miles will the battery last?” Or more specifically for golf, “How many rounds can you play before having to recharge the battery?” Both answers are largely dependent on important variables such as how much you pedal compared to how much you use the throttle, is it a hilly road or golf course, how much do you weigh, and the air pressure in the tires. Any ebike company that claims a specific amount of miles is suspect if they don’t define those variables. But we can provide some general observations with those variables in mind such as 40 to 60 miles on the road. I can also provide personal results along with the fact that I weigh 235 pounds and don’t pedal hard while I am golfing. I use the throttle most of the time. After all, the farthest I ride between shots is my longest drives, and the ride from the greens to the next tee box is usually shorter than that. All that considered, I get a little over 3 rounds of golf on an average terrain golf course. I also play on a course that has a lot of hills, and I only get 2 1/2 rounds there. One of my golf buddies is 180 pounds who also rides our GolfEbike, and he gets a lot more out of his battery than I do. By comparison, many of the entry-level cheaper bikes can’t even complete 2 rounds, so they have to recharge between every round which depletes the lifetime of the battery.
When we send the shipping tracking confirmation to you, we will include links to the manuals and other support materials which are also linked on the Instruction Pages. It is usually fastest to use the Internet as a Trouble Shooting Guide Just type in a question or keyword in your favorite search engine, and you will probably see several answers and videos. For instance, you will eventually need to adjust your brakes. If you search, “Adjusting Ebike Brakes” you will find dozens of references and tutorials. Here is one that we have used: https://www.towerelectricbikes.com/blogs/pages/adjust-ebike-brakes.
- Youtube is rich with “How to” ebike content that applies to all ebikes including maintenance, adjustments, fixing flats, and anything else you will ever need to do on your bike. Many ebike components are similar across all manufacturers, so you can learn a lot from YouTube and get instant answers.
- If you have any questions about our GolfEbikes not covered in the manuals, feel free to Contact Us. Please include pictures to help explain your questions.